30th Dec 2012

Well it is almost the end of the year, which has been a very wet one. I heard on the news today that you would have to go back 137 years to find another year where we have had this much rain in our part of the world. Typical isn't it?

So here is the final update of 2012 unless something remarkable happens tomorrow. Given the very cold and wet weather we have been having, I think its fair to say we are not as far forward as we would have liked. Having said that, with the felt on the rood, and the windows being covered over it is drying out surprisingly well inside the extension.

The gable end internal wall is now complete up to the roof line. The photo below was taken from outside on the scaffolding. The external wall is still to be finished, but with the freezing conditions we have had for much of December it has hardly been the time for laying bricks with mortar that would freeze rather than dry.

At the rear of the house, the first roof tiles are in place. We have had to use new ones as there were not enough original ones to cover all the new roof. The decision to place the new ones on the back and allow the front of the extension to blend into the existing property by using the old ones seemed an easy one to make. Of course, this meant that all the new ones delivered to the front had to be moved to the back, and all the old ones stored at the back had to be carried to the front. This was all completed by the builders though thankfully.

The new and old tiles next to one another at the rear of the property show just how much they have weathered over the 15 or so years the house has been built. These are the same base colour and style of tile, no doubt it will take a few years but they should match eventually.

There you have it, the progress so far in 2012. We wait for work to continue in 2013 and keep our fingers crossed for some warmer and dryer weather.

15th Dec 2012

Whilst pulling some of these photos together, I realised there hasn't been a photo from the rear garden since the 29th of Sept. Here it is as it stands today.

8th Dec 2012

The builder has been hard at it all week, now we have felt covering all the roof, at least that should now keep the worst of the weather out.

Viewed from the inside, what with the bright sky out there for a change the felt looks almost transparent in the photo.

Below: The internal gable end wall has been completed now, the external wall isn't complete yet, but it is moving on at great pace at the moment.

As it stands today, the extension is really starting to take shape.

2nd Dec 2012

The roof trusses are now in place, the builder has been very busy trying to get all the woodwork sorted out to get some felt on the roof to try and stop the rain getting in. This photo is at the rear of the house where the roof will be run into the exiting one.

There are a few extra details at the front, in particular above the window.

Just looking at the roof in its current state, it looks like a huge puzzle  You can tell these things are designed on computer these days to build a roof strong enough for the required loading without using more and larger bits of wood than you have to. In common with a lot of newer properties, the loft space isn't going to be an easy space to move around in.

The two photos below are taken from outside looking in, they are really starting to look like a room now there is some structure of the roof in place.

The hole in the floor that is visible in the last two photos has been left open for access. Eventually this will be solid and form part of the connection with the existing landing.

19th Nov 2012

The roof trusses have been delivered today. The only problem is they were delivered on the back of an articulated lorry, there is no way he was ever going to be able to get around the tight turns to where we are. The only answer was for them to be offloaded down the road and temporarily be left at a neighbours house. What makes this even more challenging is the weather, it has been raining all morning and it is forecast to get worse throughout the day.

Once they were carried up to our property, the only that needed to be done then was to manually lift them up on top of the extension. Fortunately though, with a little help they were soon being man handled up onto the scaffolding. Incidentally, in the photo below, they appear to be resting against next doors chimney, they are actually resting against the scaffolding, it is just the position I was stood in when taking the photo.

18th Nov 2012

The front wall has been completed up to the roof plate. A door space has been created which will lead from the master bedroom into the new en-suite  On the opposite side of this door is the boarding the builder installed back on 15th October.

The photos below also show the position of the loft access, between the new and old loft space. This will be directly above the new landing access between the new and old sections.

Eventually all the areas with the black plastic will be opened up to join the new extension with the existing house.

The exiting so-fits and fascias have been removed, ready for joining the new roof when it arrives.

The temporary satellite position is visible in the photo on the right, as you can see, there is no roof yet, so although we think it is high enough not to be blocked and need moving again, only time will tell.

2nd Nov 2012

We have been granted planning permission for the raised roof line. Now we know how high the walls need to be, furthermore the window above the garage door can be raised accordingly so the internal window sill is at a more acceptable height off the floor.

15th Oct 2012

Today the window which was in the way of the front wall has been removed. The builder has boarded up from inside and has done an excellent job of once again minimising the impact to us all.

We really are getting to the point of not being able to do much more prior to knowing the outcome of the latest planning application. The external walls can't be completed until we know how high they will be, the builder has had to have some time off now that he has run out of jobs he can actually be doing.

3rd Oct 2012

I've just received a text message, apparently the satellite system is no longer receiving a signal. The time has come to actually do something about that dish and move it.

Following a few more ideas and a good coat of looking over we have moved the dish to a temporary location on top of the scaffolding at the rear of the property. Fortunately the existing cable is long enough once unclipped from the wall to go diagonally straight to the new position. The builder was able to use the existing bracket from the wall and mount it on an old bit of wood to clamp it onto the pole. Our final bit of good fortune is that it is high enough to receive a signal over the top of our new roof (when it is built) and that of next doors as well.

Eventually the dish will be moved again onto the gable end of the extension, this will require new cable but we will run that internally through the loft space rather than on the outside of the house with cable clips.

29th Sep 2012

Meanwhile the walls are still going up in between the rain showers. In the photo below, you can clearly see a 1st floor window on the original house, to the left of the grey blocks. This is effectively in the way as the new wall cuts straight across this window. I need to move the furniture on the inside of this window to allow the builder to carry on with the wall.

In the photo below, the problem with the window can be clearly seen.  To the right of the 2nd window, there is half a brick missing, this is where a long scaffolding pole was supported, which was used to raise the old garage room to keep things as dry for as long as possible. Now it is very much open to the elements, and  as the last few photos have shown, the sky was rarely cloud free.

We seem to have a few challenges at the moment, the next one on the cards is the satellite dish, this has been the subject of many of the builder and my conversations over a coffee. At some point soon, it really is going to have to move. We still don't have any firm plans, but a lot of ideas have been discussed.

A photo from the rear garden, the window positions are clearly defined by the builders frames as the walls are built.

The area used by the builder is fenced off from the rest of the garden, allowing the family to still use it, if we ever get any decent weather that is. He does keep things tidy though and minimizes the impact to normal family life during the building.

24th Sep 2012

Following our discussions with the builder, and his conversations with the local authority we have submitted a planning permission request to raise the roof line. This will allow us to move the window up again so that the internal window ledge is at a more acceptable level. If we are able to raise the roof line from that already agreed, it will also simplify the roof structure.

So to recap, this was drawing is of the original house.

This was the first to be given planning position, with the dropped roof line over the extension.

This is the drawing as we have submitted for approval with the high roof line.

The planning permission process includes a public notification period, we therefore will not have a decision until at least 5 weeks, possibly as long as 8 weeks. It is likely the builder may run out of jobs he can complete before the roof needs to be ordered, which can't be done until we have the decision.

It is a bit late in the game to be going through the planning application stage again, but out plan is to live here for the next 20 years so we are prepared to wait a number of weeks rather than live with a compromise for all that time.

20th Sep 2012

The scaffolding is up now, and the walls are going up slowly but surely. The weather despite the pictures has been very very wet, I only tend to scale the scaffolding when it is dry, hence no wet photos.

The satellite dish in the top right of photo below used to be aimed over the top of the garage. It will need to be moved at some point otherwise it will be in a shower cubical, and whilst no expert, I can not see me getting any decent signal coverage there. It is on the list of jobs, not sure when it will be completed though.

In the photo below, the builders frame for the front window is in place now. This has raised a concern as this window is planned to be a boxed bay window and it is very low on the wall. During the initial planning discussions the roof line was dropped over the extension. When this was done, the front window was effectively slipped down the wall slightly rather than reducing the window height.

We are now considering our options, if possible we would like to raise the extension roof and effectively raise this window position by about 30 cm. We have yet to decide on a way forward. In the photo it is difficult to make out the height the window is from the ground, but its around 40 to 50 cm.

22nd Jul 2012

The Electricity meter has been moved to its new location and the old box has gone. This was completed in only a couple of hours in the pouring rain with the builder, the electrician and the Electricity company engineers all involved. This was one of those jobs that required a fair bit of sorting out so that everyone was able to work together and have it moved with minimal disruption. They all did a great job.

The steel work has been completed. to support opening the existing kitchen into the extension, along with the joists to support the 1st floor. It is now at the stage where it is possible to really get a feel for the extra space that will be created.

The new steel beams can clearly be seen in the garage which will support the floor and outer walls above. Fortunately the builder has been able to raise the original roof trusses that were on the garage as progress has been made upwards. It will all need to come off at some point, but currently it is helping keep most of the rain out.

The temporary electricity distribution point is covered by the black sheeting in the centre of the photo above. This has worked well and we haven't had any problems with the electricity and water.

Below another view of the steel work in the garage, the 1st floor joists and the rear garage door now that it has been moved to its new location. We decided to re-use the existing garage door, as we didn't want to run the risk of not being able to afford to finish a bathroom because we had ran out of money. If at the end of the project we have surplus money (unlikely) we can always replace the door then.

In the photo above, in the far right corner, is a shelf. This shelf will be used to support a communications cabinet for the structured wiring that I am planning on installing. It seemed a good idea to build support into the new block wall now rather than try to fix the cabinet onto the wall later unaided. The supports are steel belts tied into the block wall and should have no problem supporting a cabinet. More details about the cabling will be included when we get to that point, at the moment its all about planning ahead and trying to structure things accordingly now rather than struggle later. Fortunately the builders are great and always have time for a chat to talk through ideas and include them if possible.

25th Jun 2012

So far this has been the only real disruption to the existing house. The utility room has lost its window, half a wall along with the sink and worktop which have been removed. Fortunately the builder has been able to rig up a temporary drainage outlet for the washing machine, so that is still in full operation.

The existing electricity meter located next to the original back door, needs to be moved otherwise it will be in the kitchen when the extension is finished. The white box is the back of its new position. Note the temporary drainage for the washing machine is clearly visible outside.

In the photo below viewed from the front, the gas meter in the black box was able to be left in its original position, to do so the plans were amended slightly to recess the new wall by a couple of inches. This was done in collaboration of the building inspectors to avoid any potential legal problems.

The photo above also show the moveable join (soft white foam) between the existing garage wall and the new adjoining wall. This should avoid some of the cracking problems should there be movement between the two original structures.

Back in the garage for this photo, you can see the insulation between the outer original wall and the new block inner wall. We decided to do this just in case we ever converted the garage into a liveable room in the future. The original garage roof is still pretty much in place, although the tiles have been removed. Currently it is covered with a tarp to keep the worst of the weather out.

In the photo above, the old counter top and sink from the utility room can be seen. I am thinking of reusing this in the garage to ease washing the car and hands etc. without having to go into the house. It seems daft to throw it away only to think about buying a cheap replacement for the purpose.

The back garden has become a storage area, fortunately with the aid of a fence the builder has left the majority of the garden still available for the family to use. All the roof tiles from the original garage roof can clearly be seen awaiting to be used when the new extension roof is in place.

The path above will become the new entrance to the rear garden, it also serves as somewhere to put a skip without having to get permits to leave it on the public highway.

1st Jun 2012

Today the bricks and blocks are being delivered. I have no idea about these things, but it doesn't look enough to me, the builder is confident though. I trust his judgement, I've seen his work before and it always looked good with no holes or gaps due to lack of bricks.

30th May 2012

From the outside, it doesn't look like much has changed. There has been a lot of work completed though. The garage roof tiles have been taken off, yet another skip of rubbish is ready to be taken away. Thankfully these days the skips go to recycling places rather than landfill.

As you may have noticed from the grey sky, especially on the photo above, it doesn't feel like summer has arrived yet.

The concrete has been laid, both inside the garage to strengthen the footing for the additional weight and in the area shown below between the existing garage and the house.

17th May 2012

Feels like progress is really being made now, the ground works are well under way. This has been hard work, not for me, I've just been making the coffee... The builders have had to contend all the holes and footings they have had to dig, being constantly flooded with water. The ground is saturated, hopefully summer will bring some finer weather.

First some outside photos. This one is taken looking down the right hand side of the garage from the front. It is where the BMW was parked in the earlier photo.

The next two photos are taken on the left hand side of the garage, first the view from the front, then the view from the back garden.

A photo taken further back showing the rear of the garage, the board is covering what will be the new location for the garage door.

A temporary solution to the down pipe from the gutter can be seen in these photos. There is no way Incy Wincy will make it all the way up there again.

The next few photos show the footings being dug out in the garage to add strength and support for the inner wall which is to be built later. The first two photos are taken from the back corner of the garage looking towards the road from both above and below the garage floor level.

In the photo above, you can see just how much of the clay and soil that fell away under the concrete garage floor due to all the water that kept filling up these trenches. This was just prior to the concrete being poured, you can see all the re-enforcing bars already in place ready for the concrete.

The next two photos are taken along the back wall of the garage, you can see the cut out for the new garage door position in the wall on the right.